This is for every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality, and refuses to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have contempt for real teaching and learning.

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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Where Have the Dreams and Democracy Gone?

by Larry Proffitt, Member of Tennessee BATs and the BAT Leadership Team

As I have watched films lately that speak to the privatization movement
entrapping public education, I've observed teachers' many comments
about the change in their original dream of being an educator.

The fire
has dwindled in their eyes.

I'm concerned for this lost passion for the
classroom that they appear to exude.

If they have become so discouraged,
what is to become of the dreams of the students they teach?

Dreams are
shared and inspired by educators, but
the dreams seem to be dying, and along with the dreams, the future of
democracy seems to be fading.

An agricultural experiment at the
University of Tennessee was never meant to squash the dreams that
education is capable of inspiring, but it has happened.*

I speak to
teachers daily trying to encourage them, but they have become
discouraged and ready to leave the profession.

This is a double whammy
because of the experience and passion needed to mentor new teachers, but
this does not seem to affect most politicians. They have either bought
into the false propaganda about failing schools, or they are a part of
the false propaganda machine.

Copycat legislation circles our nation
striking down any protections available for our teachers, and in effect,
our students. With those protections, fear creeps into the profession
of teaching. Fear is powerful. It creates an environment of uncertainty
and submissiveness.

What can be done to reverse the trend steamrolling
through America on the false rails of misinformation?

Education and
solidarity are the only tools available to educators. With these tools,
teachers are reaching out to parents, and they rally every grassroots
group who will lend an ear.

It is vital that parents, students, and
community members join in the movement meant to derail the privatization
movement. It is the only hope to put the inquisitive minds and
philosophers back in play in our society.

We must once again ask, "What
if.....?"

We must once again make curiosity ruler of the classroom,
along with imagination and play.

Our children are our most precious
resource.

We must think of them and their future, and with that comes
the future of democracy.

So, when someone reminds you that dreams become
the foundation of aspiring inventors or creative minds solving
society's issues, remind them that the dreams are disappearing and soon
after, democracy.

*A professor at UT was the creator of Value-Added formula to assess crop yield. It was later applied to educational gains.